Heart of the Amazon
by Artdirector123
Summary: When Three ocelot kittens get stranded on clan territory, what will become of them when the cats of the clans discover them? And what is the new prophecy Star Clan has for Jayfether? Rated T for violence in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

It was late one night as the animal transport van zoomed towards London. A while back, some fool in a small southern town had tried to keep two ocelots as pets. Two very feral ocelots of the opposite gender. Long story short, the male eventually attacked his owner and the two escaped. The neighbors soon found out about the exotic renegade pets when some of their own pets started to turn up dead or hurt. One was eventually spotted (no pun intended) and one resident called animal control.

The former owner of the two wild cats was taken into questioning after the male was found with a collar, that had a tag including the owner's address, around his neck. The officers were shocked to find out from him that there was another one of the tiny jungle cats running around. They began searching again, looking in alleys, run-off water drains, and dumpsters in search of the small wild cat to get it into proper care.

They eventually found the female, half starved and sickly, behind an old, long since unused rubbish bin. When they did find her, however, they found another surprise as well: three tiny kittens. There was no question in when they would transport the mother and kittens to the nearest zoo like the they had with the male.

The mother was sick and and two weak to survive without immediate medical attention, and without their mother, the kittens wouldn't last much longer. An animal transport vehicle had been summoned to get the cats to the nearest zoo. The kittens had been placed in a separate cage than the mother, for fear they would catch whatever she was suffering from. In the animal control officer's rush, the back doors of the vehicle had been shut, but not locked.

As the vehicle drove through the woods that night, a deer suddenly jumped out on the road as it reached a bend. The vehicle swerved, sending one of the doors flying open, and the cage with the kittens tumbling out into the woods! as the vehicle corrected itself, the door shut again, leaving no evidence of the kittens' accidental abandonment as the car drove off. The cage flipped several times in the air as it fell before being caught in the uncomfortable, but life-saving tendrils of a shrub. The three kittens were left mewling in the night, their protective cage busted open, in the middle of an unknown forest.

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Meanwhile...in Thunder Clan

Jayfeather tossed and turned in his sleep. After the Great Battle, he had very few dreams beyond the usual ones of hunting or running along the lake. This one however, was different. It was dark, so very dark. Trees towered high above him, so high that their branches go unseen. Was he in the Dark Forest? No, the Dark Forest wasn't like this. A chorus noise from strange unseen animals surrounded him. The sound of rushing water made him turn his head to see a large, wide river.

"Jayfeather." a voice said. he jumped and turned to see Yellowfang.

"Yellowfang?" he said in surprise,"What are you doing here? What is this place?"

"We are in a place where even the cats of the Dark Forest would not dare trod." Yellowfang said, "It is a place where you must fight to survive every day, where not even the highest branches of the trees are truly safe."

Jayfeather gulped at the thought. "Why bring me here then?" Jayfeather asked.

"Because Jayfeather, a creature from this place will come, and it will destroy Thunder Clan, unless you stop it." Yellowfang said.

Jayfeather's eyes widened in fear, " How in the name of Star Clan do you expect me to stop it?! Thunder Clan is still recovering from the Great Battle! We're practically sitting ducks! The only reason the other clans haven't thought about attacking yet is because they're still recovering too!"

"I'm sorry Jayfeather, but how you will stop it is for you to decide, not me. There is nothing more I can do." Yellowfang said before disappearing.

" HEY! YELLOWFANG COME BACK!" Jayfeather shouted, "I WASN'T FINISHED YET! GET BACK HERE!" His vision started to fade.

"Jayfeather? Jayfeather!" a voice said.

Jayfeather opened his eyes to darkness. He was no longer in the strange forest. He was in the Medicine Cat's den. He could hear crickets, so he could tell it was still dark out. He felt something probing him. "Jayfeather! Are you alright?! You looked like you were having a nightmare!" the voice said.

Jayfether recognized the voice as Briarlight's. He growled and flicked his tail at her. "Why did you wake me up! I was having an important dream!" he hissed.

Briarlight shrunk back. "I-I'm sorry Jayfether...I didn't know! I thought the Dark Forest cats came back to hurt you in your sleep!" she said looking down at her forepaws.

Jayfeather's eyes softened and he sighed. "It's ok. It was pretty much over anyways." he said. He shouldn't be so hard on Briarlight. She was just trying to protect her friend, and she'd been terrified of the Dark Forest cats coming back.

"So what was you dream about?" She asked.

Jayfeather pointed his head in her direction. "You can't tell, anyone Briarlight. Not now at least." he said and she nodded. "I'm not sure, but….I think something's coming. Something strange that we've never dealt with before. Something that could destroy our Clan, but the scary thing is...I have no idea what it is, or how to stop it. he said.

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to be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

The next day...

"Come on Mousewhisker! Hurry up!" Berrynose shouted. Mousewhisker looked up from the bush he was staring at. He, Berrynose, Dustpelt, and Ivypool were on a patrol.

"Sorry, it's just I thought I heard something." He said. Trotting up to them.

Berrynose snickered. "Are you sure you just didn't get enough sleep last night?" he said smirking.

Mousewhisker cuffed him over the ear. "Shut up! I'm serious! I thought I heard something!"

"I hear something too!" Ivypool said, "I think it's coming from that way!" She darted through the brush, and the rest of the patrol followed. As she lead them, the sound got louder and louder. It was the sound of mewling kits! They came upon a strub that had some kind of two-leg thing stuck in it. It was like thick spider webbing formed in the shape of a box. As the got closer they saw three kits shivering inside it. Two tiny toms and a she-cat.

"They're kits!" Dustpelt shouted.

"Who would just leave them here like this?" Mousewhisker asked.

"I'm guessing it was two-legs by the stench!" Berrynose said crinkling his nose. "He guys? Have you ever seen a cat with those markings?" he asked. The three kits did indeed have odd markings, ones that no clan cat had ever seen before. Their pelts were an orange-red color with cream colored under bellies. Their spots ranged from tiny dots to large "O" shaped marks. They didn't have their eyes open yet, but they were fairly large for kits only a week or so old. The cage they were in's door was bent open.

"What should we do?" Mousewhisker asked, "I mean we can't just leave them here."

"We'll just have to take them back to camp." Dustpelt said, "Hopefully one of the queens will be willing to take care of them."

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At Thunder Clan...

Jayfeather had been on edge all day. He was worried about the prophecy, but he hadn't told Bramblestar yet. He contemplated telling him, but he decided against putting more stress on the new leader. The first leaf bare since the Great Battle was finally over, and the clan was just beginning to recover again. Brightheart had given birth to a kit recently; a small white she cat with an orange tail and a big spot over her left eye. Her name was Leafkit.

He was on such a high alert for trouble, he nearly jumped when he herd paw steps beating towards the camp. 'Were they attacked by something?' he thought, 'Was it the monster?!'

As the paw steps got closer, he smelled a different sent than his clan mates. It smelled mostly like two legs, but there was a different scent underneath. One that was slightly different to cat scent, a bit more like wood and water. The patrol burst though the clan entrance. All eyes turned towards the new arrivals.

"Mama? What do they have in their mouths?" Seedkit asked. That caught Jayfeather's attention! He peeked his head out of the den to hear what was going on better. Other cats started coming out of their dens to see what was going on as well.

"Bramblestar!" Dustpelt called.

The leader came out of his den and jumped down from the ledge, and down the stepping. Stones that lead up the stone wall. "What is it Dustpelt? Is something wrong?" he asked curiously.

The other three cats on the patrol came forward and placed the small kits in front of their leader. "We found these kits near the edge of our borders. They were stuck in what we believed to be some sort of two-leg trap." Dustpelt said, "We don't know how they got there, but they are hurt and won't last long if they don't have someone to take care of them."

"And you propose that we take in these kits that we know nothing about?" Bramblestar replied, "for all we know they have a mother that is looking for them right now."

"We didn't smell any other cat scent around, fresh or stale." Ivypool stated.

"Thunder Clan will need more warriors in the future...and they will need a home..." he contemplated. "Very well. They can stay." he said. A few of the cats on patrol gave a relieved look. Several of the other clan cats looked pleased as well, but Jayfeather couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive about the new additions to the clan.

"But who's going to take care of them? They don't even have their eyes open yet!" Bumblestripe said from they crowd. There were a few worried murmurs of agreement.

"I'm sure one of the queens will be willing to take care of the kits." Bramblestar stated. "Brightheart?" he called. She looked up in attention and nodded. "Seeing as your kit also still needs milk as these do, will you be willing to take care of them?" he asked.

"I would be glad to." she said with a smile. Her mate cloudtail nodded in agreement. The patrol brought the three kits over to her and placed them at her belly, they began nursing immediately. The crowd of cats dispanded.

Leafkit looked over her mother curiously. "Dose this mean I'm a big sister now?" she asked excitedly.

Brightheart chuckled. "In a way." She said. The excited kit began bouncing around happily.

"What should we name them?" Cloudtail asked, standing next to her.

"The she-cat can be Stormkit." she said pointing to the smallest of the three with her nose, "and that one can be Leopardkit." she pointed to the lighter colored of the two toms. "You can name the last one." she said to her mate.

Cloudtail thought for a second and then smiled. "How about Sunkit?" Bright heart smiled and nodded.

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In the medicne cat's den….

After the three new kits had been fed, they were brought to jayfeather to be treated. He didn't know why, but these three kits made him anxious. He was just finishing up cleaning Leopardkit's cuts, when he had a sudden, but quick flash of sight. He saw Leopardkit and his two siblings and a stench wafted through the air. It smelled like the place from his dream the other night. he blinked quickly and the stench, and his sight, were gone again. After the kits had been returned to brightheart, jayfeather went to bed. 'Did these kits have something to do with the creature? ...or maybe they were the creatures!' he thought. A shiver went up his spine at the thought of the danger living within Thunder Clan itself.

"You ok Jayfeather?" Briarlight asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine… " he lied. But actuality, that was the last thing he was.

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to be continued…..


	3. Chapter 3

(3 weeks later)

Jayfeather listened from his den as the kits played. The three siblings, Stormkit, Leopardkit, and Sunkit had opened their eyes after the first few days. Jayfeather had noticed several differences about those three. Their voices were very strange. They were lower and sounded more like a growling sound, but they could still pronounce words fairly easily. Their scents were also strange. They were much stronger than a normal cats and much more like foliage. He had heard the other cats saying how much bigger they were than their adopted sister, Leafkit.

He had been "watching" the three kits carefully over the past three weeks. He was still thinking about what Yellowfang had said. What if these three really were dangerous? He'd have to speak to Star Clan about this later on at the Moon Pool.

"Ahhhh!" a small scream came from the nursery. Jayfeather snapped his head in the direction of the shout. He bolted out of his den to find out what was happening.

He skidded to a halt near the nursery where the kits were playing. "What happened? Who was hurt?" He said a bit frantically. Cats nearby gave Jayfeather slightly confused looks. Since when did Jayfeather worry so much?

"Leopardkit scratched me!" Leafkit cried, showing her leg with the cut. It was bleeding slightly.

"Did not!" Leopardkit said indignantly.

"Did too!" Leafkit said.

"Did not!" Leopardkit argued.

"That's enough!" Jayfeather said getting annoyed. The two kits quieted down. "Leafkit, come with me to my den. We'll get you fixed up. Alright?" The small kit nodded and went along with the medicine cat.

Sunkit came running up behind the two followed by his sister. "Can we help?" he asked, eyes shining.

"No!" said Jayfeather a little to quickly. "It'll only take a few seconds. Then you can get back t playing with your sister. Ok?" he said trying to make up for how he snapped at the kits. The two nodded and headed off. He didn't like having those three kits around him. They alway made him feel like something was off. He knew even though they may end up being part of the prophocey Yellowfang had give him, the were still just kits. They weren't guilty of anthing. Yet. But it still made him feel antsy around these kits. What would the signs be when they did finally start on the path of their prophecy? Was this how it starts? Accidentally wounding their adopted sister? Jayfeather shook his head. Now he was just being paranoid. If this whole prophecy thing ends up causing him to have sleeping problems, then Yellowfang was definitely going to get a piece of his mind next time he saw her.

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(On the night of the half moon)

Jayfeather twitched his tail in anticipation and annoyance. He was waiting for the the other medicine cats to arrive. What was taking them so long?! It felt like he had been waiting hours. Soon he heard noises as the the other medicine cats started to arrive. Kestrelflight, Mothwing, and Willowshine came in a group.

"Good evening, Jayfeather." Mothwing said.

"You guys sure took your time." Jayfeather said, "I felt like I had been waiting here for hours for you guys to arrive." The other medicine cats were a bit taken back by his rudeness. Jayfeather usually was rude, but not this much.

"It's not our fault your territory is closest!" Willowshine said in an annoyed tone, "What's gotten your fur in a twist?"

Not wanting to tell them about the prophecy just yet, he had to quickly think of a lie. "I uh...just had a bad day. Sorry." he said trying to sound casual. The three medicine cats were even more surprised. Jayfeather apologizing?! Was the Dark Forrest attacking again?

"Jayfeather? Are you alright?" Kestrelflight asked tilting his head.

"I'm fine!" Jayfeather insisted, getting a bit annoyed again. The medicine cats still gave him questioning looks, but they dropped the subject. Soon, Littlecloud arrived and they headed over to the Moon Pool. Jayfeather lapped up a few droplets of the moonlit water and fell asleep.

Emediately, he opened his eyes to see he was no longer at the Moon Pool. Instead he was in the same place he had been in the prophetic dream he had weeks before. The place sent shivers up his spine as he heard the strange sounds of the foreign forest. Could it even be called that? It wasn't like any other forest he had ever been in or heard of. Everything was so much bigger. The trees made the ones in Thunder Clan look like twigs. He felt like an ant among them.

"Jayfeather."

He turned to see Yellowfang.

"Yellowfang, I need you to tell me the truth, half truths or riddles. who is the prophecy about? Is the kits that were found in Thunder Clan? Tell me." he demanded.

Yellowfang sighed. "Yes." she said as if it hurt her to say so.

"How can I stop it?" he asked.

"The prophecy? The only way to stop it would be to get rid of the ones involved." Yellowfang said with sorrow in her voice. Jayfeather's heart sank.

"Are you telling me to kill them?! How can you expect me to do that?! They're innocent!" he retorted with anger visible in his eyes.

"No." she replied, "I couldn't ask you to do that. Although that would be the way to stop it, killing a kit, let alone three, would be something no member of Star Clan would condone. Even if it could save the clans."

"Then why warn me? Why tell me the clans are doomed and I can't do anything about it?" he asked, anger still in his voice.

"Because a new part of the prophecy has come to light." she explained, "A creature will come from the place where even the most vile of warriors dare not trod, and it will destroy Thunder Clan, UNLESS a warrior of equal might rises up to stop it. Jayfeather you must fine this warrior, or all of Thunder Clan could be at stake." The dream started to fade away after those words.

"Yellowfang!" he called out wanting more information. Who was this warrior? Was it his brother Lionblaze? Or was it someone else? Jayfeather opened his blind eyes to find he was at the Moonpool again. The other medicine cats were waking up. None of them seemed the least bit worried, or said anything about their dreams. Medicine cats aren't supposed too, but it still seemed to show that their slumbers were much more peaceful than his. While they had nice chats with their ancestors, Jayfeather was left with many questions and sense of dread.

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To be continued...


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